tick at least one box,’ Art murmured, smiling very slowly.
‘Well, yes...you tick that one box.’ Flustered, she held her breath as their eyes locked.
‘Never knock the physical attraction box. It’s the biggest one of all.’
‘We’ll have to agree to differ on that.’
‘Think so?’ Art grinned, settling on his side and manoeuvring her so that they were now facing one another, clothes still on and that very fact sending the temperature into the sizzling stratosphere. ‘Oh, I wouldn’t talk too fast if I were you...’ He slipped his hand under her top and took his time getting to her breast, waiting until her breathing had become halting, her eyelids fluttering and her nostrils flaring. Then and only then did he touch her, cup her naked breast, feel the tight bud of her nipple. He’d spent the meal in a state of heightened awareness and the feel of her now was electrifying.
While he was busy telling her just how fast he could make her believe in the importance of sexual attraction because nothing was better than good sex, and he was very, very adept at giving very, very good sex, he was simultaneously on the verge of blowing it by getting turned on too quickly. In his book, speed and good sex rarely went together for a sensational experience.
He kept looking at her, holding her gaze, while he played with her nipple.
He wasn’t going to go a step further until he got himself under control.
But, hell, those sexy eyes that were just on the right side of innocent, however sassy she was, were doing a million things to his body.
‘You think you can convert me?’ Rose breathed, squirming with want.
‘No harm in trying.’ Art let loose a low, sexy laugh. In one slick movement, he eased himself up to straddle her prone body, caging her in with his thighs. He hooked his fingers under the top and began slowly tugging it up.
‘No bra,’ he murmured. ‘I like that.’
* * *
‘I...’ Rose gulped and wished that she hadn’t switched any lights on at all, although would she have sacrificed the joy of looking at him to preserve her modesty? She felt faint as her top rode higher and then the whisper of cool air brought goosebumps to her naked skin. Automatically, she lifted her arms to cross them over her bare chest and, just as fast, Arturo gently pushed them aside and stifled a primal groan of pleasure as his eyes feasted on her.
‘Beautiful,’ he whispered, circling one straining bud with the tip of his finger.
Rose had never felt quite so exposed. She wasn’t ashamed of her body. She simply recognised its limitations. Lights off worked when it came to dealing with those limitations and to have him looking at her like that...
She sneaked a glance at him and felt a surge of thrilling excitement because his eyes were dark with masculine appreciation.
‘I’m not exactly the most voluptuous woman on the face of the earth,’ Rose apologised, blushing. ‘That’s why I can go without a bra a lot of the time. Not much there to contain.’ She laughed and watched his finger as it continued to circle her nipple, moving onto the other.
‘You should never have hang-ups about your body,’ Arturo said thickly. ‘It’s amazing. Your nipples are stunning...dark...succulent...’
‘Arturo!’
He laughed and shot her a wicked look from under his lashes. ‘Is that the sound of you begging me to continue telling you why you should be proud of your body?’
‘No!’ But she laughed, a little breathless laugh that was unsteady with anticipation.
‘I’m going to have fun tasting them,’ Arturo told her conversationally. ‘Does it turn you on to imagine the feel of my mouth on your nipple?’
‘Stop!’
‘You’re red as a beetroot.’ Arturo grinned and gently tilted her averted face so that she was looking at him.
He vaulted off the bed, fumbled to make sure protection was handy and then he began getting undressed.
Rose stared.
She forgot all about her inhibitions because never had she seen anything so glorious in her life before.
He was all muscle and sinew, his broad shoulders tapering to a washboard-flat stomach. He ditched the shirt and raised his eyebrows with amusement at her rapt expression.
‘You have no idea,’ he murmured, taking a step towards her, at which she promptly hoisted herself onto her elbows, automatically leaning towards him, ‘what that expression is doing to my libido.’
‘Really?’ Riveted, Rose continued to stare at him.
‘Really,’ Arturo said drily, ‘but you’ll see for yourself soon enough...’ He burst out laughing when her eyes skittered away just as he began unbuttoning his trousers.
He seemed to revel in the intensity of her gaze.
The trousers were off.
The boxers followed suit.
Rose gulped. He was more than impressive. Big, thick, throbbing with want. Standing there, he was absolutely lacking in inhibition, carelessly indifferent to the perfection of his nakedness.
Rose sat up, then slid off the bed to stand in front of him. She was half naked and now all she wanted to do was yank down the skirt but, before she could, he stayed her fluttering hand and moved towards her, holding her just for a moment so that she could feel his hardness pressing against her belly.
‘Allow me...’ he murmured.
Arturo wasn’t going to rush anything, even though his body must be clamouring for satisfaction.
He eased the skin-tight skirt off her to reveal plain cotton panties. For a few seconds, Arturo stilled.
He was kneeling and he drew back to look at her. Hands on her bare bottom, Arturo delicately teased the folds of her womanhood with a gentle touch, causing her to gasp and then exhale on a whimper.
When his tongue slid into the slippery crease she gasped again, this time on a guttural moan, and her fingers curled into his hair as she opened her legs wider to receive his attentions.
Rose was melting. Every bone in her body was turning to water as his tongue flicked over her, squirming deeper until he located the pulsing bud of her core.
The pleasure was intense, unbearable almost, nothing that she had ever felt before or could ever have imagined feeling. It was pure sensation and every thought, confused or otherwise, shot straight out of her head.
She realised that she was moving against his mouth in an unconscious rhythm.
She almost squeaked a protest when he drew back and stood up to lift her off her feet so that he could deposit her onto the bed, as though she weighed nothing at all.
Rose was expecting something fast and furious but instead
